Cannons
Soon after the destructive potential of TNT was discovered, scientists across Eleutheria developed increasing efficient ways to propel these explosive projectiles across vast distances. The cannon is the culmination of this arms race. The plugin AimCannon provides the framework for making and using cannons in Eleutheria. Building a Cannon Cannons are built using a standard design, shown to the right. For the plugin to recognize the cannon and treat the blocks as such, the cannon requires two iron blocks, one dispenser, and one button to the left of the dispenser. The cannon elements must be arranged in the order shown in the picture or else the cannon will not work. The lever, however, is not a required part of the cannon, but allows it to be turned in ninety-degree increments. Manuevering, Aiming, and Firing the Cannon Once the cannon is built, it is ready to be fired at any time without commands. For each successful shot, two elements are required in the player's inventory: sulphur (gunpowder) for the charge, and TNT for the shot. Each shot requires only one TNT, but varying amounts of sulphur can be used to increase or decrease the power of the shot. To activate the cannon, left click the dispenser with sulphur in your inventory. This will load the cannon with powder, using up one of the sulphurs in the inventory. Once the cannon has been activated, this sulphur cannot be recovered. Any subsequent left clicks on the dispenser will deposit more sulphur into the load, increasing the distance and velocity of the shot. Four sulphur is the maximum allowed in a single shot. To swivel the cannon in ninety-degree increments, click on the lever. Note that the cannon cannot be swiveled before the dispenser has been charged. '''After aiming the cannon in desired quadrant, fire it by left-clicking the button located to the left of the dispenser. Upon this click, one TNT will be removed from your inventory and will appear on top of the iron blocks that make up the barrel of the cannon. Although it is ignited, it will not injure you, so long as the path for it to fly is clear (see '''Useful Tips below). After a set amount of time, the cannon will fire, sending the TNT shot downrange, where it will impact against the target and detonate'.' To aim the shot, look in the direction you want the shot to travel after you click the button and the TNT is ignited. Cannons in Eleutheria lack control and finesse in aiming, so there is only about ten degrees of deviation from a straight line, so keep this in mind when attempting to aim. To change the fuse of the TNT, thus adjusting how far it travels before detonating, right click the button to cycle through available options. Short flight fuse forces the cannon to wait longer before firing the primed TNT, thus giving shorter flight time; long flight fuse does the opposite, and normal flight fuse splits the difference. Useful Tips *If a shot is blocked by poorly-designed fortifications or walls, the TNT can be prevented from traveling to the target, and can misfire, severely damaging the cannon and wounding or killing the gunner. Be sure to test the cannon before attempting to use it in combat. (Note: TNT fires from above the iron blocks. Be sure to leave adequate space above the cannon.) *Do not put fence posts flanking the barrel of the cannon. Although it does help to repel enemies, the fence blocks are more than one block high, and so the TNT can get "stuck" on them and will misfire. *Ignited TNT is an entity, which means it is affected by gravity and momentum. If your enemy is at long range, try to arc your shots by aiming higher vertically. Cannons do not have the same vertical restriction as the horizontal restrictions, and shots can be lobbed effectively at long distances. *When firing long shots, be sure to change the fuse to long flight fuse to give yourself the maximum range, and put more sulphur in your charges to make the TNT fly faster. *Cannons are the weapon of choice for ships of all classes, and any ship sailing without them is at the mercy of any it meets on the high seas. Arming your ship with an adequate number of cannons is a wise choice. Category:Game Mechanics